Singapore prize is one of the world’s leading hubs for research and innovation. Its universities are ranked among the best in Asia and offer students the opportunity to establish global connections and take their research career to new heights. The country is also the gateway to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The Singapore prize was first awarded in 2014 to recognise outstanding publications that have made a lasting impact on Singaporeans’ understanding of the nation’s history.
In the 2022 edition, the award is divided into 12 categories for books written in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. This is an adjustment to the previous structure, where fiction competed with poetry for a single award. This year’s shortlist features 49 titles from across the four languages, an increase from last year’s 37. The judging panel this year includes author and literary critic Mabel Lee, academics Mabel Chan and Syed Hamid, and historians Lee Siah Wei and Yeo Wing-yong.
The winner of this year’s Deborah Rogers writers’ prize was Sharlene Wen-Ning Teo, whose novel Ponti has not yet been published. Teo, who studied law at the University of Edinburgh, has had writing published in Esquire and Eunoia Review, and is currently completing her PhD at the University of East Anglia on Singaporean and Malaysian trauma writing. Ian McEwan, who read an excerpt from the book and presented the prize, called it “a remarkable debut novel in the making.”
A migrant worker at heavy vehicle leasing firm Pollisum Engineering has become the latest winner of the annual SGP game show, winning a prize worth over SG$250,000 (US$177,000). Selvam Arumugam, 42, was given the prize money for beating the other players in the Red Light, Green Light game, which he had no idea about when he entered it. He said he copied the actions of the other players and tried to run as fast as possible to avoid elimination.
The yearly SGP event, which has been running since 2004, is popular among the city’s young population and has seen big names such as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes perform. In recent years, the SGP has also awarded prizes to philanthropists and social impact projects. This year, the prize was boosted by GBP 1 million (approximately USD 1.25 million or SGD 1.7 million) from Prince William’s Earthshot Foundation. The winner will receive the money to further develop their innovative ideas and implement them on a wider scale.